Cluster: Democracy

Cabinet tackles welfare and housing issues

This content was published on Jan 15, 2014 Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann said the cabinet was considering measures to boost property and building corporations to acquire land and make the rent levels more transparent. About 60% of residents in Switzerland live in rented accommodation. However, he said the government had ruled out direct state intervention in the housing market, confirming a decision taken…

Democracy

Campaigners take aim at Gripen fighter jets

This content was published on Jan 14, 2014 Two separate groups said they collected more than 100,000 signatures, twice as many as necessary to challenge a parliamentary decision. They were handed in to the Federal Chancellery on Tuesday. The purchase of the jets is too costly and unnecessary according to a committee of centre-left politicians. It said the existing fleet of FA/18 aircraft…

Democracy

Turnout could decide immigration vote

This content was published on Jan 10, 2014 Supporters of the initiative by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party lagged 18 percentage points behind in an opinion poll published by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation on Friday. They held a 37% minority share six weeks ahead of the vote on February 9. (See graphic) However, Claude Longchamp, head of the leading GfS Bern polling and…

Democracy

Number of ‘baby-hatches’ grows despite controversy

This content was published on Jan 7, 2014 Baby-hatches (also known as ‘baby-boxes’ or ‘baby-windows’) are something of a legal grey area, and they have aroused criticism on ethical, medical and social grounds. Yet at the moment they seem to be on the increase in Switzerland. Up until June 2012 there was just one baby-hatch in the whole country, at Einsiedeln hospital in…

Democracy

‘In Switzerland immigration doesn’t only create winners’

This content was published on Jan 3, 2014 Three nationwide votes on immigration policy are set to fuel political debates between now and the next parliamentary elections in 2015. They include a referendum on extending the free movement of persons to Croatia and the Ecopop initiative to “stop over-population”. But first, Swiss voters will decide on February 9 whether to accept an initiative…

Democracy

Swiss to vote on funding of abortion

This content was published on Dec 22, 2013 The strength of the people’s response in June 2002 seemed to have put an end to decades of bitter debates on abortion in Switzerland. With over 72% of votes cast, the electorate had approved what was known as the first-trimester solution, which meant the decriminalisation of abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. At…

Democracy

Swiss railways could benefit from fresh cash boost

This content was published on Dec 20, 2013 Less congestion on the streets, more seats on trains, half-hourly connections on main routes, expansion in all regions, better regulation of freight traffic – all this and much more is promised by a new bill. Every canton is to get a slice of the action, worth CHF6.4 billion ($7.2 billion). “This is not a transport…

Democracy

Raising the bar for people’s initiatives

This content was published on Dec 17, 2013 It’s Saturday afternoon on the Bärenplatz in Bern. Activists seeking signatures for people’s initiatives of all sorts make a point of setting up their tables on this crowded square in the Swiss capital, just a stone’s throw from the federal parliament. Andy Tschümperlin knows the scene well. He has often been one of the signature…

Democracy

Swiss fight over impact of EU immigration

This content was published on Dec 16, 2013 It’s the Swiss People’s Party that forced the vote. Its president, Toni Brunner, told swissinfo.ch that rejecting the initiative would be as good as giving in to excessive immigration. Since the progressive introduction of the accord between Switzerland and the EU granting free access to each other’s labour markets, up to 80,000 foreign workers have…

Democracy

EU ambassador warns over immigration vote

This content was published on Dec 8, 2013 In an interview with Swiss national television on Saturday evening, Richard Jones said Switzerland would have to revoke the bilateral agreement on the free movement of persons accord if Swiss people accepted the Swiss People’s Party’s initiative to limit mass immigration on February 9. This would have a knock-on effect and mean the cancelling of…

Cluster: Democracy

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Cluster: Democracy

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Cabinet tackles welfare and housing issues

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Campaigners take aim at Gripen fighter jets

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Turnout could decide immigration vote

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Number of ‘baby-hatches’ grows despite controversy

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‘In Switzerland immigration doesn’t only create winners’

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Swiss to vote on funding of abortion

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Swiss railways could benefit from fresh cash boost

More

Raising the bar for people’s initiatives

More

Swiss fight over impact of EU immigration

More

EU ambassador warns over immigration vote

Popular Stories

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